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Ted & Betty came along to the Birmingham Back to Backs to tell their story to a National Trust volunteer on 22 March 2005. They are aware of and accept the site’s terms and conditions.

Before joining the RAF, Ted was a member of the Home Guard in Edgbaston and remembers well the long nights of the Birmingham Blitz. On one occasion, he heard a report of a UXB in Gough Road, Edgbaston, so went in to evacuate the families from the area. He went into one house and started moving the family out when someone stopped and said ‘What about Mr Smith?’
‘Don’t worry about him’, said another, ‘he’ll be fine on the sofa!’
‘But wait’ said Ted, ‘we must get Mr Smith out — he’s in terrible danger!’
‘Oh, honestly, he’ll be fine… he’s the cat!’

Betty lived in Stoke Newington during the war — it was before she met Ted and married him. There was a dairy farm at the top of the road. Betty went would ride down to school in the City on a tram.

She remembers how, at the time, as young people, we all thought we were fire-proof. We used to run across the road during raids and never thought we’d get hurt. We could see the skies glowing over the docks and we would shelter in the crypt under our local church.

One morning when we came out a row of shops and the flats above them had been it by a land mine. The rescue wardens were clearing the area and a horse a dray cart came to take the bodies away. That morning we decided we wouldn’t go into the shelter any more — we stayed in our house. Eventually, the family left London for Yorkshire.

Ted and Betty met at Bolton Technical College. Despite wanting to be a land girl, Betty was called up to join the WAAF and was one of 100 girls posted to learn about radio mechanics at Bolton Tech. Ted was the lecturer and Betty was the only girl in his class. Betty said ‘We married in 1944. I was just 18 years old and the war was ending. We had 7 days leave for the wedding, then Ted stayed in Bolton and I was posted to Cranwich.’

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